Face of Post Office Aging

By Bill RuftyLedger Political Editor

Sunday

Oct 30, 2011 at 10:18 PM

The neighborhood post office — with Miss Marnie at the window for 30 years and old Bill delivering his route throughout the times when the kids first started school, when they graduated from college and when they began having kids of their own — is a thing of the past.Last Thursday's information session by the U.S. Postal Service, which likely will move local mail sorting out of Lakeland, proved it. It's not part of the community anymore, said some attending the session at USF Poly; it's a business.People demand nowadays of their government and semi-government agencies to profit or at least break even. The post office sells stamps to collectors and moves letters and packages for businesses and residents. There was a former editor who observed that the post office also in some areas like Lakeland is the "poor people's bank." For those who don't have a bank account either because they don't understand it or because they don't have enough to keep it going, many line up at the post office for cash or money orders to send money back home and pay bills.But the visiting with local leaders and businessmen as they went through their daily chores at the local post office, or catching up with old Bill or Miss Marnie on how the family is doing, are gone.Also gone is the old practice of local politicians to campaign at the local post office, listening to concerns and making promises. Except in small communities where it still exists to a small extent, people don't congregate to visit at post offices while doing their business there anymore.It's not to say that's good or bad. It's just to say that a centuries-old character of the post office has changed.

‘LOWER UTILITY RATES NOW' ... WELL, MAYBE LATERElliott Dorsch, Lakeland businessman running for the City Commission, has a new mailing out that says, "Stand with Elliot Dorsch and LOWER UTILITY RATES NOW."Lakeland Electric and mistakes by the commission in its natural gas contract have been a major campaign plank in the 2007 and 2009 Lakeland city elections. Folks promise they are going to "straighten that place out," but they forgot or don't know that it takes four votes on the City Commission to get anything done. So far, except for this year when a rate increase was voted down, little ever happens on those campaign promises.Dorsch's brochure has a petition on it. The recipient signs the petition card and mails it back to the candidate. Dorsch said he will then turn those cards over to the members of the City Commission.But even Dorsch says, despite the "lower now" notice on his campaign brochure, that rates won't be lowered now.He said he wants to make certain at least that they aren't raised."I would like everything done by the new managing director of Lakeland Electric, when he comes on board at the end of the year, to keep costs stable," Dorsch said. "Utility rates increases will be considered again in two years and it is important they not increase."Dorsch said stable utility rates are needed to help businesses and residents, as well, in this slow economy, but he did not say when he thought the rates could be lowered.Still, what happens when some signers of his petition cards begin demanding that he lower utility rates now like the brochure says?But his opponent for the Northeast District seat on the City Commission also has Lakeland Electric on his campaign platform.Keith Merritt, a Lakeland lawyer running for the post, wants a paid professional utility authority running the city-owned electric producer. That might prevent the occasional bobblehead reaction of city commissioners to the Lakeland Electric officials' requests.But trying to find enough money to hire qualified authority members with experience in electric utilities might also be a problem. So upset utility customers then are left with the title of an old cartoon strip "Grin and Bear It."

[ Ledger Political Editor Bill Rufty can be reached at bill.rufty@theledger.com or 863-802-7523. His blog can be seen at www.polkpolitics.blogs.theledger.com and his Twitter site is LedgerBill. ]

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